MATCH NOTES:

Fresh off a weekend road trip, the Seminoles will turn around and jumpstart a five-match home swing Tuesday against intrastate rivals UCF in an out-of-conference match-up between the two teams…The match will be shown live on the Sunshine Network…This weekend, North Carolina (Fri., 7:00 p.m.) and NC State (Sun., 1:00 p.m.) will travel to Tallahassee to resume ACC play…FSU is 9-7 overall and 6-3 at home…In its last outing, Virginia defeated the Seminoles, 3-1, in Charlottesville, Va…The previous evening, FSU won a big match against Maryland…It was the Terps first loss on their own territory all season long…Gametracker is available for all three matches…Fans who live outside of the state can listen to the UCF match live, courtesy of the UCF Sports Information Department at www.wgkb.com…The Seminoles top all-around player, Kristen Rust, missed the Virginia match due to an illness…She is expected to play Tuesday night although she is still suffering from a nagging shin injury…Andreza Santos is rehabbing from surgery (torn meniscus) and is expected to be out a couple more weeks…Offensively, FSU is led by Kristen Rust and Amanda Santos who have 183 and 172 kills, respectively…Santos also leads the Seminoles with a .380 hitting percentage, good enough for second in the ACC, and 79.0 total blocks…Jessica Skower is the team quarterback with 701 assists and a 12.30 assists per game average…Skower is ranked No. 6 in the ACC in assists…Freshman libero Summer Weissing paces the squad with 202 digs and Rust is second on the team with 124 digs…As a team, FSU plays strong at the net and is ranked No. 1 in the ACC, holding teams to a .132 hitting percentage…The Seminoles have also recorded 84 service aces compared to 74 recorded by their opponents…Florida State averages 2.89 blocks per game and has four players with at least 13 service aces…Weissing leads with 16, followed by Skower (15), Rust (15), and Cassie McLaughlin (13), respectively.

Scouting the Opponents: Central Florida

Since starting 0-7, UCF (5-7, 3-0) appears to have turned things around with a five-match winning streak including a 3-0 start in league play. During the current five-match winning streak, the Knights are hitting .291 as a team and averaging 16.94 kills per game. UCF is also adding 2.12 service aces per game and 2.82 blocks per game during the streak. Prior to the streak, the Knights were hitting just .071 while averaging 11.08 kills per game. They also averaged just 1.46 aces per game and 2.10 blocks per game before the streak began. One of many keys to the turnaround has been the play of freshman setter Kim Clonan. The 5-11 DeLand, Fla., native is averaging 14.65 apg. during the current streak.

The Series

Florida State vs. UCF

Tuesday’s meeting will be the 34th meeting between the two schools with the Seminoles owning an all-time record of 26-7. The squads last met on Oct. 14, 2003, and Florida State won in four games.

Florida State vs. North Carolina

The Seminoles own an all-time record of 25-14 going into the 39th meeting between the two schools. The squads last met on Halloween 2003 and the Seminoles swept the match.

Florida State vs. NC State

FSU owns a 24-5 all-time record against NC State going into the 29th meeting. Last year, FSU swept both matches.

In the latest AVCA / RichKern.Com Regional rankings released this week, FSU stayed at the No. 11 spot. Duke owns the top position.

Kristen Rust established a new season high with 19 kills at Maryland.

Since starting the season 5-0, a pattern has started to develop. The Seminoles dropped three matches to only come back and win two straight. This has happened on two occasions. Currently riding on one loss, FSU will look to put a stop to the pattern on Tuesday.

Last Match Recap

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Junior middle blocker/opposite Lauren Scott’s career-high 14 kills were not enough as the Florida State volleyball team fell to Virginia Saturday tonight at Memorial Gym. Game scores were 26-30, 22-30, 30-27, and 26-30. With the loss, the Seminoles fall to 9-7 overall and 2-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Florida State’s top player all-around player, Kristen Rust (Cincinnati, Ohio / McAuley HS), missed the match because of an illness. With the departure of Rust, head coach Todd Kress had to rely on Scott (Corona, Calif. / Barton CC), sophomore Nikki Anthony (Pickens, S.C. / Pickens HS) and Aisha Carr (Dallas, Texas / Skyline) to perform on both sides of the net. Anthony registered her second double-digit kills match in as many nights with 13 total. Furthermore, she also added four digs and 13.5 total points. Carr paced both teams with nine total blocks (1-8), 10 kills, and a .333 hitting percentage. Along with Scott’s 14 kills, she also hit a team-high .400 off of 25 swings and pitched in three block assists.

Kress Nearing 200 Career Wins

The Seminoles will look to capture three impressive milestones during the remainder of the season. With 198 career wins, Florida State head coach Todd Kress is nearing his 200-win milestone. Furthermore, with an all-time record of 788 to date, the FSU volleyball program is 12 wins shy of recording its 800th victory. Finally, the Tribe owns an all-time ACC record of 93-99 and needs seven conference wins to reach the century mark.

Scott is Hot

Although she’s laid-back and reserve in person, FSU middle blocker/opposite Lauren Scott is making plenty of noise on the court these days. The junior transfer from Barton Community College in Kansas and a Carson, Calif., native, led Florida State in kills with 14 last Saturday against Virginia and recorded a .400 hitting percentage off of 25 swings. In fact, up until the Virginia match, she had only five total kills in nine games before her breakout performance. Let’s just say Scott defines the old saying, “actions speak louder than words.”

Rust Is A Must

Florida State junior Kristen Rust has emerged as one of the top players in the ACC in recent weeks. Not only does she pace her squad with five double-doubles this season, Rust also leads FSU in points (4.04 ppg.) and kills (3.45 kpg), and she is second in digs (2.34 dpg.). Even more impressive is the fact that has had 10-plus kills 11 times this season.

Florida State Featured In CVU Magazine

There is a story on Seminoles Volleyball on page 26 in the latest issue of CVU (Collegiate Volleyball Update) magazine that hit newsstands last week. The article is titled “FSU On The Rise” and sisters Amanda and Andreza Santos as well as setter Jessica Skower have colored pictures in the feature story. For more information, visit www.cvu.com.

No Slim Pickens Here

Florida State volleyball and hoops player, Nikki Anthony, has stepped up the pace in recent weeks on offense. The Pickens, S.C., native, has totaled double-digit kills in the last three consecutive matches. Furthermore, she had a season-high 15 kills at Maryland last Friday and notched a .407 clip. She may not be dunking on the basketball court, however, she’s putting down plenty of slams in volleyball!

What is Florida State’s Best Game?

Statistically speaking, FSU tends to do well in the first game where it is 10-6 this year. The second contest is a little closer, but the Seminoles hold a slight 9-7 advantage. In the third go-around, the Tribe dominates 12-4. However, in games 4-5, the opponent takes home these battles 3-5 and 1-3.

Gametracker Available

Live statistics through Gametracker are available anytime the Seminoles are at home or on the road where it is supported. Technical difficulties in the gym cause the live stats to delay or shut down at times, however, as long as the link is still available Gametracker is up and working at Tully Gymnasium.

You Get It First

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